Dear Sir/Madam

I am considering doing Citizenship PGCE this year, but in light of the curriculum change is it still worth doing? am i still employable...if not in citizenship then in other fields?

Hi Naz

I would say yes, you will still be most employable and also citizenship education won't be going away. If there is curriculum change there will still be a requirement to teach the subject and Ofsted will still inspect it.

You can find the list of this coming years training establishments on the ACT website under the menu choice 'How do I become a Citizenship teacher?'

Chris waller, ACT Professional Officer

Having difficulty producing KS4 reports on citizenship as the subject here is taught by tutors via PSHE/Citizenship programme (not accredited)only one hour a fortnight and although students keep their work in a file as evidence whose job is it to wrote their report - do they need levels (like ks3) or would just a general comment on strengths and weaknesses be sufficient. I feel tutors would be reluctant to do it in light of their already heavy workload, and I cant do 500 reports ! What do you advise?

Firstly, you do not need to use levels at KS4-but you could do so if that would be more helpful. Some schools like to use the levels as it gives continuity with KS3. Generally, you should report progress across KS4 and indicate something of the programme of study followed.

To ease workload I would be asking tutors therefore to indicate progress from KS3 against specific aspects of Citizenship education-say two concepts and two processes.

You can only do so much so as ever, choose to do a little very well-don’t try to do too much badly!! Be pragmatic and give a clear steer to your colleagues.

If you want more advice, just ask as ever.

Chris Waller, ACT Professional Officer

Hi, I am applying for several Secondary Citizenship PGCE programs at the moment, and I need to complete my 5 days of classroom placement. I am having some trouble finding a secondary school for this. I live in Central London, and I would be willing to go further to another part of London for this. Can anyone help with some suggestions for schools I can do this classroom experience in? Thank you.

I suggest that you contact the schools in your local area and ask them if they can host you. Make sure you're fairly flexible with when you can go in because it can sometimes be disruptive for teachers to have to host other people when they're trying to work. Providing you're flexible it shouldn't be a problem.

Just make sure that the school you approach have a qualified Citizenship teacher. If they use a teacher who is not a Citizenship specialist (e.g. Geography or PSHE teacher who is delivering Citizenship) then you don't know what sort of quality you'll be observing or how useful it will be to you.

You can also contact the school you went to as a pupil as they should be happy to help out an old pupil of theirs!

Millicent Scott

enter you question here...

Is it possible to dialogue with the founders of your Citizenship program/curriculum? I am interested in learning about the process required to implement a Citizenship program in British Columbia schools in Canada

Please email Millicent.scott@teachingcitizenship.org.uk with any questions.

Thank you.

Is Citizenship secure in schools? With government plans for a 'slimmed down' curriculum, will this subject be safe or will it be dropped from it's current status in the National Curriculum bearing in mind it is a relatively new subject in its current state? I teach Citizenship and PSHE Education and I am in the fortunate position that my department has 1 hour a week for students to be taught in these areas by specialists or at least dedicated teachers rather than the common model of random non-specialists. I have a slight fear for my job!

This is a very good question at the moment.

The model that your school has adopted is a strong one and it suggests that your school leadership values the contribution that Citizenship education-and PSHEe- make to young people's education. As such, why would the SMT want to abandon a valuable aspect of teaching and learning? If school leaders are to be given more authority over the school curiculum, then the schools where Citizenship education is strong will value it and want to ensure it continues to be successful.

In general, I think that this is the main resaon that most schools would not abandon Citizenship education. The value of the subject is seen by heads and governors-it links stongly to the ethos that many schools and communities espouse. It provides the only space for young people to explore aspects of justice and rights, controversial issues and global learning. It links to student voice and supoprts many of the legal obligations of school-like the participation aspect of Every Child matters. It also chimes clearly with aspects of the new government Big Society and its aspirations for active and politically literate young people.

However, it is likely that any change in the curriculum will impact on Citizenship education and other subjects. Teachers like yourself will have to be prepared to argue the case and provide good quality evidence of the impact and success of the subject. Having a strong representation at GCSE level may be useful-short course or full course. Having strong compelling learning experiences, good assessment and reporting and good referencing from Ofsted will help.

ACT feels that Citizenship education is well established now with its strong curriculum, good resources and full set of examinations; that it can support many of the aspirations of the Coalition government. Do go and talk to your head about these matters though and if you need more support then do ask ACT.

Chris Waller, Professional Officer

Can schools gain Citizenship specialism status? If so, what is involved and required to ascertain it?

Stuart George

A very interesting question. There are two such specialist Citizenship academies/colleges in the country. You might try contacting Bradford Academy at www.bradfordacademy.co.uk and asking them about their experience.

Many schools go for Humanities status with Citizenship forming part of the mix. You are best off consulting with Specialist Schools and Academies Trust at www.ssatust.org.uk

Chris Waller, ACT

While levels are required for end of KS3 by Sept 2011, what replaces the end of KS4 descriptor? do we have to use levels(assuming we do not offer a GCSE in the subject)?

Yes, schools should use the levels to describe progress. These replace the end of key stage description for both key stage 3 and key stage 4.

Liz Craft, QCDA

Is summative assessment the most effective method of assessing citizenship within school at KS4 or formative assessment?

This is a good question. QCDA, who advise on assessment matters, tend to talk about assessment in terms of day to day and periodic assessment. You can see more about this in the web pages about the secondary curriculum on the ACT website.

If by summative you mean external assessment such as GCSE then the new courses have a 60 per cent weighting of controlled teacher assessment for the active citizenship project and 40 per cent by exam.

If you mean should you'test' or make use of a powerful assessment task(s) built into a piece of work the students are undertaking, then both ACT and QCDA we would suggest its better to look for a range of evidence of learning, from a range of types of citizenship learning activities. This is more robust than relying on a single often limited test or task at the end of the piece of work, term or year. It is always better to consider activities that involve more than writing about what students know or can do. Of course written tests can be an appropriate means to check whether students have understood or acquired a paticular concept or idea, but they are not the most appropriate way of checking whether learners have acquired and can use and apply citizenship knowledge, skills and processes.

The 8 Level Scale for Citizenship is your best guide. Look at that and use it as a guide for planning your work, assessment activities and progression. Use it as a framework-not a ladder though. It is not appropriate simply to see the 8 Level Scale as a ladder for students to move up. Always consider what Conecpts and/or Processes you are planning to investigate in the work students are undertaking. Finally, always think about trying to assess that which is more difficult to assess-not just the easy bits. That way both you and your students will have a clearer picture of their progress.

Chris Waller, ACT and Liz Craft QCDA

Hello, I'm studying for DTLLS at the moment, I'm interested in teaching citizenship in adult/further education. Could you tell me what qualification I need and where I'd go for it? Many thanks

There is lots of information on the ACT website about starting out as a Citizenship education teacher in the section ' How do I become a Citizenship education teacher' You should also look at the TDA web pages-links form our site on the pages mentioned. The TDA is always worth contacting for the varied routes into teacher overall.

Millicent Scott

HI, I RECEIVED A 48.5% MARK (THRID) IN SOCIALOGY . I AM AND INTERESTED AND CONSIDERING a PCGE IN CITIZENSHIP. MOST UNIVERSITY ARE ASKING FOR A 2.2. IS THERE ANOTHER PATHWAY TO GAINING ANOTHER QUALIFICATION TOWARDS REACHING MY GOAL AS A CITIZENSHIP TEACHER? ANGIE

I think that your best route is asking at indivdual HEIs where Citizenship education is a PGCE. They will be able to help you more specifically. The list of such HEIs is on our website in the section 'How do I become a Citizenship education teacher'

Millicent Scott